Skeptical Consumers
A few people have expressed a concern regarding some of my Bytech marketing costs. Without getting into details, the questions “Is it worth it? What are you getting back?” creeped up multiple times, and I wish to address these for what hopefully is the last time.
Look around you, be it the newspaper, a drive through the city, on TV, or the Internet. Everywhere you look, advertisements. Most folks think of them as minute details of everyday life, yet thousands of companies out there are paying serious money to have their message heard and seen.
Running a business is not free. I’m not referring to the obvious costs of computers, phones, rent and payroll. Those things are not a business on their own. By business, I mean finding and serving the clients. Without clients, you don’t have a business.
There are many ways of finding clients, and over the years I’ve tried many methods of building a loyal client base. Most of these marketing efforts involved paying someone for a service, and keeping track of how much business the transaction brings, if any. Low key spending, unnoticed by friends and family.
These days the Bytech marketing budget is spent in ways that are by default highly visible. The budget itself has increased somewhat, but a large portion of the highly visible investments are not the result of extra spending, but simply a redirection of funds from the other, less obvious marketing expenses. I am not spending a whole lot more than I did previous years.
Anyone who tried doing anything entrepreneurial knows that even the best ideas don’t catch on quickly. People are cynical. Most have at some point bought the next must-have item, only to realise it is an utter piece of crap not worth a dime. These kind of experiences turn trusting individuals into skeptical consumers.
We’re all skeptical consumers, which explains why my marketing investments will need a while before they repay for themselves. In the meanwhile, the skeptical consumer in you may be wondering about the wisdom of these investments. Rest assured that the money you see me spending was always being spent, and that I more than you, want and need these investments to work out well.
February 5th, 2007 at 1:07
I heard it once said by an entrepreneur that if you think you’ve got an original idea, be it for a product, service or what not, you probably don’t need to worry too much about someone stealing it. Chances are you will have to cram it down their throats in order for it to catch on.